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JAYHAWKS MAKE RETURN TO MEMORIAL STADIUM
The football team will look to bump its record to 5-1 against the Colorado Buffaloes. The game kicks off at 11:30 a.m., Saturday. SPORTS | 1B
BASKETBALL SEASON PREVIEW SPECIAL SECTION COMING MONDAY Make sure to pick up a copy of The Kansan on Monday, Oct. 13 for analysis and season predictions for both the men's and women's 2008-09 basketball teams.
THE STUDENT VOICE SINCE 1904
FRIDAY,OCTOBER 10,2008
WWW.KANSAN.COM
VOLUME 120 ISSUE 37
BUSES ON BALLOTS
City's mass transit hinges on tax initiative
Jessica Mortinger, Hays graduate student and president of Students for Transit, a KU student organization focused on promoting public transportation and related issues, speaks to a student Thursday morning at the KU Energy Fair in front of Stauffer-Flint Hall. The future of the Lawrence transit system depends on the passage of a 0.2 percent sales tax measure on the Nov. 4 ballot, which will be the sole source of funding for the bus system. Also on the ballot is a proposed 0.05 percent sales tax that would support a bus replacement fund.
KU's Park and Ride system may also be affected if the measure fails to pass
Ryan McGeeney/KANSAN
BY RYAN MCGEENEY rmcgeeney@kansan.com
Thursday morning, among about a dozen booths set up on the Stauffer-Flint Hall lawn as part of the KU Energy Fair, Jessica Mortinger, Hays graduate student, engaged everyone who came within earshot over the "clean energy" generator running on biodiesel fuel a few yards away.
"Do you need a button on that backpack?" Mortinger said, straining to maintain a conversational tone over the racket. Standing behind a table fortified with buttons, foam beer holders and literature, Mortinger, president of Students for Transit, was eager to inform as many people as possible of the importance of the tax issues that will determine the near future of public transportation in Lawrence.
Because of budget constrictions, the fate of Lawrence's public transit bus system hangs on the passage of a 0.2 percent sales tax on the November ballot. The extra 20 cents per $100 spent will fund the bus system after Jan. 1, 2009, when the city's current contract with MV Transportation expires. Additionally, a 0.05 percent proposed sales tax would support a bus-replacement fund to maintain the city's fleet.
"There are a lot of advantages that public transportation brings to KU students and the community." Mortinger said. "Personally, I'm very tied to public transit. I see this issue as a social justice issue. When I fill up my car, I know how expensive it is, I know how it limits people with a lack of income and resources, in terms of their mobility throughout the community."
Although the University's bus system, KU On Wheels, operates independently of the Lawrence transit system, KU students, especially those who rely on the Park and Ride system, may be more influenced by the potential dissolution of the city transit system than they realize.
The Park and Ride system is in part funded by federal dollars, and receipt of that money is contingent upon the city of Lawrence receiving federal funds for its own bus system. If the city bus system disappears, so do the federal dollars allocated for that system, along with Park and Ride, Mortiner said.
"If there's no federal funding in Lawrence, the Park and Ride buses could be sold," Mortinger said. The Federal Transit Administration which handles such situations, could choose to sell off the vehicles to other federally funded systems within the state or beyond.
"We've been told that at this point, they're not sure what they would do yet," Mortinger said. "One option is that the University could buy out the federal share of the buses, which is $1 million. They could take the buses and sell them. There are other cities in the state that are looking to start federally funded transit systems right now, like Manhattan, Salina and Hays."
Additionally, the Lawrence transit system operates on weekends — the KU bus system does not — and from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., three hours longer each day than the KU On Wheels bus system.
Lawrence's $1 million "budgeting shortfall" is actually the result of a combination of increased fuel prices, decreasing property tax revenue, and reallocation of existing city funds to cover minimal cost-of-living raises for city employees.
Lawrence City Commissioner Dennis "Boog" Highberger said that the city's present contract with MV Transportation, based in California, was based on a fixed fuel cost of about $1.60 per gallon of diesel fuel.
"That obviously won't be available for our next contract," Highberger said.
"They've been losing vast amounts of money due to fuel for the past year."
Presently, Lawrence's transit system is funded through property taxes. But because of falling appraised property values resulting from the ongoing slump in the housing market, the city was faced with the prospect of either trying to manage a higher transit cost with less tax revenue or raising property taxes, Lawrence Mayor Mike Dever said.
"The increase is approximately $1 million more than the $900,000 we're already paying." Dever said. He said that David Corliss, the City Manager, elected to shift property tax revenue to pay for city operations and cost-of-living raises for city employees, and let voters decide whether
to continue funding the transit system rather than raise taxes.
"It's entirely dependent upon the sales tax election," Corliss said. "If the sales taxes don't pass, we won't have a transit system."
"I feel like people can't say 'no' just because they don't use it," said Mortinger. "It's like other public services that we pay for. Through taxes, I pay for the fire department. My house has never burned down — I've never used the fire department. But at the same time, I'd never say that I wouldn't want to pay for it, because it's a public service that we should be providing our residents."
Edited by Kelsey Hayes
ADMINISTRATION
'Refund' baffles Edwards Campus students
BY JOE PREINER
jpreiner@kansan.com
Students at the KU Edwards Campus in Overland Park are scrambling to pay back tuition refunds that the University erroneously sent them last month.
Mary Ryan, associate dean of academic affairs at the Edwards Campus, said the refunds were the result of a software glitch in the Enroll and Pay program. The glitch resulted in the system's failure to update tuition costs, making students' bills lower than they were supposed to be.
The KU Edwards Campus enrolls about 2,100 students each semester. According to the campus' Web site, 47 percent of those students are married and nearly 25 percent have children younger than 18 years old.
The University Registrar sent an e-mail to about 400 affected students Tuesday. The e-mail informed students that their accounts had been credited with a refund, which varied in amount depending on the
students' credit hours. The refunds were issued during the week of Sept. 29, but the problem was not discovered until recently.
Paul Gutierrez, Vinton, Texas, graduate student, found out Tuesday that he owed the University an extra $396 he was previously unaware of. He said the entire process had left him confused and frustrated, an issue the University's e-mail had also addressed. Gutierrez expressed concern about repaying the refund in time to meet the Nov. 15 deadline.
Cindy Derritt, University Registrar, said in the e-mail the problem was brought to the University's attention by "a number of very honest students who reported the unexpected check."
Ryan said the issue with repayment was going to be flexible, based on a case-to-case evaluation for each student. She said the University was willing to work with
Ryan said the error had taken a while to correct because of the lengthy process of tracking down the affected students.
Ryan said there were a number of students who were very upset by the situation. She said the University had done its best to this point to be accommodating for those affected. Ryan said students were welcome to call her and the Registrar's office to discuss issues generated by the situation.
Cathy Griffith, Lansing graduate student, made what she thought would be her final tuition payment Oct. 1. She chose to pay her tuition on a monthly basis through the Tuition Management System offered online. After reaching a zero balance on her account, she was informed through Enroll and Pay that she owed another $695.25. Griffith said when she contacted the Bursar's office, she received a polite explanation of the situation.
Edited by Kelsey Hayes
students to resolve the potentially frustrating issue. In some cases, Ryan said the payment deadline could be extended as late as January.
ELECTION 2008
Professor to lecture about campaign themes of present and past presidential candidates
A lecture examining political campaign rhetoric will be held from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday at the Museum of Anthropology, east of the Kansas Union. Professor Robert Rowland will speak on the major themes surrounding the Obama and McCain ad campaigns. Rowland will
also show examples from the campaigns and speeches and compare past presidential campaign ads. Tickets are free and the event is open to the public.
FULL STORY PAGE 5A
FILM
KU alumnus premieres his comedy show, 'Mildly Off the Wall,' tonight at The Granada
"Mildly Off the Wall," a sketch comedy show created by a University alumnus, is now looking for students to join the cast and crew. The pilot episode of the show can be seen at "A Night of
Comedy" at 8 tonight at The Granada, 1020 Massachusetts St.
FULL STORY PAGE 3A
index
Classifieds. 4B Opinion. 5A
Crossword. 4A Sports. 1B
Horoscopes. 4A Sudoku. 4A
All contents, unless stated otherwise. © 2008 The University Daily Kansan
HEFFNER BREAKS UP WITH GIRLFRIEND
The couple called it quits after the Playboy editor said he did not want to wed or have more children. ENTERTAINMENT | 4A
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